George Henry Preble
{{Short description|American naval officer and writer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = George Henry Preble
| image = George Henry Preble (cropped).jpg
| caption = Preble in 1879
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1816|2|25}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1885|3|1|1816|2|25}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial = Eastern Cemetery, Portland, Maine, U.S.
| birth_place = Portland, Maine, U.S.
| death_place = Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
| placeofburial_coordinates =
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{flagu|United States|1865|size=23px}}
| branch = {{flag|United States Navy|1864|size=23px}}
| serviceyears = 1835–78
| rank = File:USN Rear Admiral rank insignia.jpg Rear Admiral
| unit =
| commands = {{USS|Katahdin|1861|2}}
{{USS|Oneida|1861|2}}
{{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}}
{{USS|State of Georgia|1851|2}}
{{USS|Pensacola|1859|2}}
South Pacific Station
| battles = Second Seminole War
Mexican–American War
American Civil War
| awards =
| relations = Edward Preble (uncle)
| laterwork = Writer of historical and genealogical studies
| signature = George Henry Preble's signature (cropped).jpg
}}
File:Fort McHenry flag.jpg in the Boston Navy Yard]]
George Henry Preble (February 25, 1816 – March 1, 1885) was an American naval officer and writer, notable for his history of the flag of the United States and for taking the first photograph of the Fort McHenry flag that inspired the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".
Early life and education
He was born in Portland, Maine, into a seafaring family; his father was sea captain Enoch Preble,{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWESAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA183 |chapter=Family History of Edward Preble |title=Naval Officers: Their Heredity and Development |first1=Charles Benedict |last1=Davenport |first2=Mary Theresa |last2=Scudder |date=1919 |pages=183–184 |publisher=The Plimpton Press on behalf of the Carnegie Institution of Washington |location=Norwood, Massachusetts |access-date=November 28, 2023}} whose brother was the noted Commodore Edward Preble. George entered the Navy as a midshipman on December 10, 1835, serving on the frigate {{USS|United States|1797|2}} until 1838.
Career
He was in the Florida war in 1841, and was on the sloop {{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}} for its circumnavigation of the world in 1843–1845, taking ashore the first American force to land in China. In the Mexican–American War, he participated in the capture of Alvarado, Veracruz, and Tuxpan. He became master on July 15, 1847, and lieutenant on February 5, 1848. While serving on the frigate {{USS|St. Lawrence|1848|2}}, he went with Matthew C. Perry to Japan in 1853, during which Preble surveyed various harbors in the Far East.
After a period as lighthouse inspector and at Charlestown Navy Yard, he served on {{USS|Narragansett|1859|2}}, 1859–1861, then took command of the steam-gunboat {{USS|Katahdin|1861|2}}, serving with David Farragut on the Mississippi River, was promoted to commander on July 16, 1862, and given command of the steam-sloop {{USS|Oneida|1861|2}} blockading Mobile Bay.
When the Confederate cruiser {{Ship|CSS|Florida|cruiser|6}} eluded him, Preble was dismissed from the Navy, but was reinstated{{Cite web
|url= http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=69865
|title=Abraham Lincoln: Message to the Senate Nominating George Henry Preble to be a Commander in the Navy
|work=presidency.ucsb.edu
|access-date=October 22, 2010
}} after the captain of Florida testified that superior speed alone had saved him.
Additionally, each of the officers on Oneida testified that Preble had done no wrong.{{Cite book
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxk2AQAAIAAJ&q=USS+Stranger&pg=PA451
|title=United States Congressional serial set, Issue 3332, PP 432–68.
|year=1895
|access-date=June 24, 2011
}} According to their accounts, Florida appeared at around 5:00 pm on September 4, 1862, bearing the ensign of a ship of the English Navy. Preble was in command of Oneida and {{USS|Winona||2}}. Because the other ships were in for repairs, the usual complement of six ships had been reduced to two. Winona had been dispatched to chase another blockade runner and was returning from that chase when Florida began her run. One of Oneida{{'}}s iron boilers had been shut down for repairs, leaving only one in operation. (One of the officers stated that the Navy's choice to use cheaper iron rather than steel was the actual cause of the problem.)
When Florida began her run, Preble moved to placeOneida in front of Florida. At 6:00 pm, he ordered shots fired across her bow. Believing that the ship was English, two warning shots were fired over her bow and a third shot into her forefoot (The part of a ship at which the prow joins the keel) instead of the customary single warning shot. All three shots were fired within three minutes of her being in range of Oneida{{'}}s guns. When Florida did not stop, Preble ordered the fourth shot be sent into the enemy ship. This shot missed, at which time Florida lowered her false ensign, and made directly for Fort Morgan. It was not until this point that Preble could be sure that the ship was a Confederate vessel. With one boiler out of commission, Oneida was unable to keep pace with Florida, which escaped into the bay. However, Oneida kept up fire on the ship for 29 minutes until it was safely under the protection of Fort Morgan. In addition to the speed issue, the reports state that there were some visibility issues that contributed to poor marksmanship of Oneida{{'}}s gun crew.
After being reinstated, Preble commanded the sailing sloop {{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}}, only to have Florida escape him once again, off Madeira.
=Writing career=
Preble was also known as a writer on naval and historical topics and as a collector of naval documents. His extensive personal library of books and documents related to the sea is located in The George Henry Preble Collection{{Cite web
|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/preble_g_coll.htm
|title=George Henry Preble Collection
|work=history.navy.mil
|access-date=October 22, 2010
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206005949/http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/preble_g_coll.htm
|archive-date=December 6, 2010
|df=mdy
}} at the Navy Department Library. He was also active in various learned and genealogical societies of the time. In 1868, he published a genealogical history of the Preble family in North America, which included his biography and portrait, as well as that of his famous uncle, Edward{{Cite web
|url=http://preblefamily.org/books/Commodore.pdf
|title=Excerpt, pp. 162–180, A Genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America
|work=preblefamily.org
|access-date=October 22, 2010
}} The book also set forth a defense of his actions that led to his dismissal from the Navy, as well as the efforts of himself and others that led to his exoneration and reinstatement. In 1872, he published his Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America, which is still cited as a source. He also took care of the original "Star-Spangled Banner" which had flown over Fort McHenry and had the flag sewn to a piece of sailcloth in order to preserve it.
Later life and death
After the war, Preble commanded the steamer {{USS|State of Georgia|1851|2}}, and rescued 600 passengers from the wrecked steamer Golden Rule. He was at the Boston Navy Yard from 1865 to 1868, where he was promoted to captain on March 16, 1867, then commanded the screw steamer {{USS|Pensacola|1859|2}} until 1870. He became commodore on November 2, 1871, commanding the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1873 to 1875. Preble became rear admiral on September 30, 1876, commanding the South Pacific Station from 1877 to 1878. He retired from active duty on February 25, 1878.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA48 |chapter=Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble |title=The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps: Compiled from Official Sources |first=Lewis Randolph |last=Hamersly |date=1878 |pages=48–51 |publisher=J. B. Lippincott & Co. |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |access-date=November 28, 2023}}
He was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
In 1873 Preble was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistp American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]
Preble died while living at the home of his son in Brookline, Massachusetts near Boston, on March 1, 1885.{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/03/02/102955997.pdf |title=Rear-Admiral Preble Dead |date=March 2, 1885 |page=2 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 28, 2023}} He is buried near his famous uncle in the Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine.
Dates of rank
- Midshipman - 10 October 1835
- Passed Midshipman - 22 June 1841
- Master - 15 July 1847
- Lieutenant - 5 February 1848
- Commander - 16 July 1862
- Captain - 29 January 1867
- Commodore - 2 November 1871
- Rear Admiral - 30 September 1876
- Retired List - 25 February 1878
Publications
- Chase of the Rebel Steamer of War "Oreto" (Cambridge, 1862)
- [http://preblefamily.org/books/Preble.pdf A genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America] (Boston, 1868)
- First Cruise of the United States Frigate "Essex" (Salem, 1870)
- Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America (Albany, 1872)
- History of Steam Navigation (Philadelphia, 1883)
- [https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog/page/n353 History of the Flag of the United States of America] (1880)
Notes
{{Reflist|30em}}
References
- {{NHC|article=The George Henry Preble Collection|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/george-henry-preble-collection-finding-aid.html}}
Attribution
- {{Appletons'}}
External links
{{Commonscat|George Henry Preble}}
- [http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=12110 Photograph of Rear Admiral George Henry Preble from the Maine Memory Network]
- [https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/man-findingaids/MS_381.EAD.xml George Henry Preble Papers, 1858–1869 MS 381] held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
- {{Gutenberg author | id=38135| name=George Henry Preble}}
- {{Internet Archive author |sname=George Henry Preble}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preble, George H.}}
Category:American military personnel of the Seminole Wars
Category:United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War
Category:People of Maine in the American Civil War
Category:American naval historians
Category:Writers from Portland, Maine
Category:American male non-fiction writers